At the Board of Governors meeting on May 21, President Alan Shepard began by thanking all those who helped make the 82nd Congress of the Association francophone pour le savoir (Acfas) such a success.
He noted that more than 5,000 guests attended Acfas, which was held on campus May 12 to 16, and that many Concordia professors and graduate students presented their research at the conference.
Strategic planning update
Shepard offered an update on the university’s two strategic documents, the first of which, the five-year Reaching Up, Reaching Out: A Strategic Framework for Concordia University, concludes this year. The second, the Academic Plan, which took effect in 2012, will wrap up in 2016.
Shepard explained that now, as the first comes to an end, the two plans will be merged into one, with a formal process set to begin in the fall. There will be two phases of consultation and reflection. After that, the plan will be brought to Senate and Board of Governors for approval. Shepard expects this to take a year.
New university travel policy approved
The Board approved a revised version of the university’s policy on travel and other allowable expenses (Policy CFO-3).
The changes cover the entirety of the policy, and reflect best practices as recommended by the Audit Committee. The revised policy will take effect on September 1, 2014, and will be accompanied by a communications plan to notify the community of the modifications.
COPIBEC license renewal and revision to copyright fee
The Board also approved a resolution to renew its licensing agreement with COPIBEC, the not-for-profit collective representing authors and publishers.
The licensing agreement, at a reduced fee for students, was renewed for an additional three years as the legal landscape surrounding copyright for course materials settles.
A revision to the per-credit copyright fee paid by students was also approved by the Board. While previously at $0.77 per credit — as approved on January 30, 2013 — the fee will now stand at $0.53 per credit. This represents a 40 per cent decrease. It will take effect for all students as of registrations for the summer term in each of the next three academic years.
Revised mandate for School of Extended Learning approved
During the meeting, the Board approved a motion to revise the mandate of the School of Extended Learning (SEL).
At its meeting of April 25, 2014, Senate unanimously approved changes to the SEL’s mandate. With these changes, SEL will focus its resources on the further development of high-quality non-credit language courses and continuing education.
The implementation of the changes will unfold in the next year, and any other revisions that would require Board approval, such the composition and powers of SEL’s Council, will be presented to the Board in due course. Read more.
Concordia Student Congress update
Melissa Wheeler, president of the Concordia Student Union, offered an update of the Concordia Student Congress, held in March. She reported that the turnout surpassed that of the Concordia Student Union elections.
In all, 25 undergraduate student groups were represented. There were also representatives from each faculty. Students put forward a number of recommendations, including more representation at the departmental and Faculty level, as well as increased Co-op placements.